Methods and apparatus for training in the use of optically-aimed projectile-firing firearms

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for training a shooter of an optically aimed, projectile-firing weapon includes head gear adapted to be worn by the shooter. The head gear carries a housing, a beam splitter mounted to the housing, and an adjustment mechanism for positioning the beam splitter in front of a dominant eye of the shooter so that the beam splitter is operable to divide an image of the target into a first beam portion oriented toward the shooter&#39;s eye, and a second beam portion oriented in a different second direction. A camera is mounted on the head gear in line with the second direction for generating a video signal from the second beam portion. A remote monitor is connected to the camera for displaying a video image from the video signal. A hole through which the shooter aims can be adjusted in diameter to facilitate initial aiming.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for training or instructing in the use of an optically-aimed, projectile-firing firearm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Instruction in the proper use of firearms is an important part of the training of military, law enforcement and security personnel. It is also of interest to sportsmen, particularly instruction which promotes safer use of firearms in recreational settings.

In conventional firearm training, the student is instructed as to the proper stance, aiming and firing of the firearm. This may involve firing in various positions or while moving with respect to the target. Accuracy can be determined by examining the location of bullet holes in the target. Some students, however, have difficulty developing the skills necessary to properly position the firearm through aiming, the instant of firing and the follow-through. These difficulties greatly increase instructional costs and may prevent otherwise well-qualified candidates from entering some military, law enforcement or security services.

Depicted in FIG. 1 is a prior art system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,868 in which a video camera 10 is worn on a shooter's eyewear 12 and positioned to replicate the shooter's line of sight from either eye. A video output signal from the camera is applied to LCD display panels in the eyewear to provide the shooter with an image of the target being aimed at, as well as an image of the shooter's firearm. The shooter is thus able to sight the target and fire by viewing the displayed image. The video signal is also sent to a monitor where an instructor can view it and/or where multiple views are displayed to correlate the results of the shooting. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,868 is incorporated herein by reference.

It would be desirable to provide such training methods and apparatus which provide the shooter with a more natural view of the target.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is a process for training a shooter in the aiming of a firearm toward a target, comprising the steps of:

-   -   A. positioning a beam splitter on a shooter's head in front of         the shooter's dominant eye as the shooter aims and fires a         firearm toward the target, so that an image of the target is         divided by the beam splitter into a first beam portion oriented         in a first direction toward the shooter's dominant eye, and a         second beam portion oriented in a different second direction;     -   B. directing the second beam portion to a video camera for         generating a video signal therefrom; and     -   C. sending the video signal to a monitor to enable the aiming         and firing to be viewed at the monitor.

Also disclosed is an apparatus for training a shooter of a firearm which includes head gear adapted to be worn by the shooter. The head gear has a carrier, a housing mounted on a lower portion of the carrier, a beam splitter mounted to the housing, and an adjustment mechanism for positioning the beam splitter in front of an eye of the shooter so that the beam splitter is operable to divide an image of the target into a first portion oriented toward the shooter's eye, and a second portion oriented in a different second direction. A camera is mounted on the head gear in line with the second direction for generating a video signal from the second beam portion. A monitor receives a video signal from the camera for displaying the video image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Improved methods and apparatus are described below in connection with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 depicts a shooter using a prior art apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of new head gear.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of system embodiments, illustrating certain aspects of image processing and display.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a part of the apparatus which carries a beam splitter.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view depicting how the beam splitter works when sighting a target.

FIG. 6 depicts a shooter viewing a target through a large hole leading to the beam splitter.

FIG. 7 depicts a shooter viewing through a small size hole optionally refining the field of view for initial sighting the target.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Depicted in FIG. 2 is a head gear to be worn by a shooter. The head gear includes a head band 10 which can be of any suitable configuration, but preferably includes a main portion 11 configured to extend around a shooter's head and to be adjustable to fit different head sizes. The main portion 11 includes a front section 12, a top section 14, and a rear section 16. The top section 14 is split to form two band portions 14 a, 14 b which extend into a frame 18. The band portions are adjustable in a conventional manner. That is, each band portion carries ratchet teeth (not shown) engaged by a toothed rotary wheel (not shown) that is affixed to a knob 20 which is rotatably mounted on the frame 18. By rotating the knob, the band portions 14 a, 14 b are moved relative to one another to expand or contract the rear section 14, depending on the direction of knob rotation. Likewise, the rear section 16 includes two portions 16 a, 16 b which extend into a frame 22 for adjustment by a knob (not shown). Mounted to the main portion 11 is a U-shaped support band 24 having end portions pivotably connected to the main portion by threaded knobs 26 (only one shown) which enable the end portions to be loosened so that the support band can be swung up and down.

At a mid-region of the support band 24 there is provided a bracket 28 in which is mounted a generally T-shaped carrier 32. The carrier includes an upper horizontal cross-piece 34 hinged to the bracket 28 by a hinge pin to enable the carrier member to pivot about a horizontal axis defined by the hinge pin. Screws 35 at each end of the hinge enable the hinge to be locked in position. Projecting downwardly from the headband 10 is a shank portion 38 which carries a first ball 40 at its lower end. Mounted on the first ball is a first end of a first clamp 42. A second end of the first clamp 42 receives a second ball 44 carried by a support member 46. The first clamp 42 can be loosened by means of a threaded rotary knob 48 to enable the first clamp to swing about the first ball 40, and enable the second ball 44 to swing about the second end of the first clamp, thereby adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of the support member 46.

The support member 46 is in the form of a second clamp which receives the upper portion of a housing 54. By loosening the second clamp 46, the housing can be adjusted by vertical movement and/or by rotation about a vertical axis.

A video camera 56 is mounted within the upper end of the housing 54 (see FIG. 5) and is aimed toward a lower end of the housing where a conventional beam splitter 58 is mounted. The housing includes a cylindrical main portion 59 having holes 60 formed in diametrically opposite relationship therein to enable the user to sight the target through the housing. The beam splitter is arranged to receive the image as a beam 62 and split the beam into two beam portions 64, 66, one beam portion 64 directed toward an optical input axis of the camera 56, and the other beam portion 66 directed toward the shooter's dominant eye.

Any conventional beam splitter can be used which allows some light to pass through to the shooter's eye while reflecting the other light toward the camera 56. Although a 50-50 ratio is preferred (i.e., 50% of light to the eye and 50% to the camera), other ratios could be used. One suitable beam splitter is an elliptical plate beam splitter, minor axis 25.0 mm, major axis 35.36 mm, visible spectrum, available from Edmund Optics Inc.

Advantageously, the camera 56 may be of the miniature variety, for example, a 7 mm CCD camera with 180,000 pixel resolution producing 60 fields or 30 frames per second. Associated control and power circuitry for the camera (not shown) may be integrated in the camera, mounted on the headband 10, worn on the body of the shooter, or placed away from the shooter. Also, advantageously the camera may be provided with means for adjusting the focus and focusing depth of the camera, so that the image displayed to the shooter replicates the natural focus and focusing depth of the shooter when using the unaided eye to aim the firearm.

FIG. 6 is a pictorial view of a pistol shooter wearing the head gear while sighting a target. The shooter would be aiming the pistol in the same manner shown in FIG. 1. The shooter could be standing, kneeling or prostate, for example. The pistol may be equipped with any conventional optical sight including a conventional laser red dot optical sight. The shooter could be aiming any other projectile-firing where enough physical space exists between the shooter's eye and the firearm, or between the shooter's eye and the firearm's scope, if any, to accommodate the wearing of the head gear.

In practice, the head gear 10 is placed on the shooter's head and adjusted for a proper fit. Then, the housing 54 is adjusted so that the shooter can view a target T through the hole 60. This is normally done by pivoting the first clamp 42 about the first ball 40 and/or pivoting the support member 46 and its second ball 44 relative to the first clamp 42. It will be appreciated that the housing can be adjusted vertically and horizontally, i.e., in roll, pitch and yaw directions with respect to the direction of aiming. Once the centers of the holes 60 of the housing 54 are substantially aligned with the shooter's line of sight LS in his/her dominant eye, the first clamp 42 is tightened to lock the housing in position.

When the shooter initially sights the target T through the housing 54, it may occur that the field of view through the hole 60 (shown for example in FIG. 4) is undesirably too great, allowing the shooter to align his/her view, firearm and target outside the optimal area in the center of the hole 60, to which the camera is aligned. Thus, to correct that condition, an alignment mechanism is provided which comprises an outer sleeve 67 mounted on the main portion 59 for rotation relative thereto about a vertical axis. The sleeve 67 carries two sets of outer holes 68 a, 68 b, each set comprising two holes arranged diametrically opposite one another on the sleeve 67. The holes 68 a are of larger diameter than the holes 68 b and are aligned along a diameter D1 of the sleeve which is oriented perpendicular to a diameter D2 along which the smaller holes 68 b are aligned. By rotating the sleeve 57 ninety degrees, the holes 68 a, 68 b can be moved selectively into and out of overlying relationship to the large holes 60 of the main portion 59 of the housing.

In this way, the holes through which the shooter sights a target can be adjusted between large and small diameters.

The viewing of the target T through the large holes 68 a is shown in FIG. 6, and a large hole 68 a is depicted by a solid line in FIG. 4. The viewing of the target T through the small holes 68 b is shown in FIG. 7, and a small hole 68 b is depicted by a phantom line in FIG. 4. Rotation of the sleeve is limited to ninety degrees by providing a slot 69 a on the sleeve which receives a pin 69 b carried by the main portion 59.

As shown in FIG. 3, the video camera 56 sends, via its control unit, a signal to a video monitor or other video capture receiving device. Thus, the image seen by the shooter can be sent directly to the monitor 70 for viewing by an instructor. Optionally, a processor 72 may also receive signals from the camera and/or other cameras and data devices and further combine all signals for immediate viewing and/or captured for later viewing. The instructor can watch all components on the computer screen in real time. Later, both the instructor and the shooter can view the shooter's technique in normal, slow or frame-by-frame motion, enabling the shooter to see the relationships between the video and the trigger data.

It will be appreciated that the beam splitter/camera combination delivers a horizontally and/or vertically reversed image to the monitor/computer. Using conventional software or hardware, the image is reversed before being displayed on the monitor, so the display shows the same image as by the shooter.

It will be appreciated that the afore-described method and apparatus provides advantages not present in prior art devices of this type, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,868 in which an eyewear-mounted camera provides an image that the shooter sees only on display panels disposed in the eyewear. Instead, with the improved apparatus described herein, the shooter directly views the target itself and has a wide range of vision in both eyes which is not restricted to the range of the camera as in the prior art device. Furthermore, since the shooter's non-dominant eye is not forced to look at the same view as the dominant eye, the shooter's field of view has a more natural feel to him/her.

The method and apparatus are adapted for use with projectile-firing firearms such as pistols, rifles, shotguns, and any other optically-aimed, projectile-firing firearm where enough physical space exists between the shooter's eye and the firearm, or between the shooter's eye and the firearm's scope, if any, to accommodate the wearing of the head gear.

It will be appreciated that only a preferred embodiment is disclosed above, and that additions, deletions, modifications, and substitutions not specifically described may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 

1. A process for training a shooter in the aiming of an optically aimed, projectile-firing weapon toward a target, comprising the steps of: A. positioning a beam splitter on a shooter's head in front of the shooter's dominant eye as the shooter aims and fires weapon toward the target, so that an image of the target is divided by the beam splitter into a first beam portion oriented in a first direction toward the shooter's dominant eye, and a second beam portion oriented in a different second direction; B. directing the second beam portion to a video camera for generating a video signal therefrom; and C. sending the video signal to a monitor to enable the aiming and firing to be viewed at the monitor.
 2. The process according to claim 1 wherein the video camera receives the second beam portion while mounted on the shooter's head in line with the second direction.
 3. The process according to claim 1 wherein the video signal is monitored in real time and optionally recorded for alter review.
 4. The process according to claim 1 wherein the beam splitter is disposed in a housing such that the shooter aligns his/her dominant eye with the target through a hole adjustable between large and small sizes, step A comprising adjusting the hole size to the small size, aligning the shooter's dominant eye with the target through the small-size hole, and then varying the hole size to large size.
 5. The process according to claim 4 wherein the housing comprises a main portion and a sleeve mounted on the main portion and rotatable relative thereto to selectively move one of a plurality of different-size holes carried by the sleeve into alignment with the shooter's eye.
 6. The process according to claim 1 wherein the image sent from the camera to the monitor is inverted.
 7. An apparatus for training a shooter of an optically-aimed, projectile-firing weapon, comprising: head gear adapted to be worn by the shooter including: a carrier; a housing mounted on a lower portion of the carrier; a beam splitter mounted to the housing; an adjustment mechanism for positioning the beam splitter in front of an eye of the shooter so that the beam splitter is operable to divide an image of the target into a first beam portion oriented toward the shooter's eye, and a second beam portion oriented in a different second direction; a camera mounted on the head gear to receive the second beam portion for generating a video signal from the second beam portion; and a monitor connected to the camera for displaying a video image from the video signal.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the beam splitter is disposed in a housing such that the shooter aligns his/her eye with the target through a hole adjustable between large and small sizes, and further including an adjustment mechanism for varying the size of the hole.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the housing comprises a main portion and a sleeve mounted on the main portion for rotatable relative to the main portion to selectively move one of a plurality of different-size holes carried by the sleeve into alignment with the shooter's eye.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the housing is adjustable in yaw, pitch and roll directions with respect to the direction of aiming.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a video camera trained on the shooter and connected to the monitor for generating a close-up view of the target on the monitor.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 7, further including a first ball joint; a first clamp having first and second ends, the first end mounted on the first ball to enable the first clamp to swing about the ball; the second end receiving a second ball of a support member, enabling the support member to swing about the second ball, and a housing attached to the second ball, a housing attached to the second ball and receiving the beam splitter.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the clamp enabled the housing to be adjusted generally up and down.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 7 further including software or hardware for inverting the image sent from the camera to the monitor. 